


Growing On You

by firequakes



Category: F. T. Island, MBLAQ
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-19
Updated: 2011-12-19
Packaged: 2019-07-06 09:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15883185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firequakes/pseuds/firequakes
Summary: Chulyong looks a little like Hongki, and Jaejin isn't sure how he feels about this.





	Growing On You

**Author's Note:**

> the '91-line is always precious but i clearly 'ship this due to obvious biases. :') do wish they were (publicly) closer irl though. :( belated happy birthday jaejin!

 

 

The first time Jaejin is introduced to him, Chulyong’s arm is wrapped casually around Kibum’s waist, something that makes his eyebrows quirk with curiosity. He has to consciously shift his line of vision from Kibum’s torso to Chulyong himself, who smiles at him widely, all teeth and enthusiasm.  
  
“This is Chulyong,” Kibum explains. “He’s like a stray that I seem to have picked up in Psych 101, and now he won’t let go.”  
  
There’s exasperation to be found in Kibum’s tone, but Jaejin is more than familiar with it, and he knows that it’s meant fondly. He looks at Chulyong’s face, studying it—something about him seems weirdly familiar, but Jaejin isn’t sure what.  
  
“Hello!” Chulyong’s grin gets even bigger as he untangles himself from Kibum so he can hold out a hand for Jaejin to shake.  
  
“This is Jaejin,” Kibum tells Chulyong. “A friend whom I’ve known for unfortunately far too long.”  
  
“ _Hey_!” Jaejin berates Kibum, playfully punching his friend’s shoulder.  
  
“Chulyong kind of looks like Hongki-hyung, don’t you think?” Kibum comments later on when Chulyong has gone to his next class, and it’s just him and Jaejin left.  
  
His tone is a little questioning, a little accusatory, a little like he’s daring Jaejin to react to the statement. Jaejin suddenly feels like something is sinking in his stomach as he realises that Kibum is right, and that this was exactly what had seemed familiar about the other boy.  
  
“Does he?” Jaejin, however, pretends to just shrug it off.  
  
Kibum snorts and rolls his eyes—he’s clearly not buying the nonchalance.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejin finds out soon after that Chulyong is annoyingly loud most of the time. Also that Kibum was hardly kidding when he said that “now he won’t let go.”  
  
It’s Thursday night, and it’s customary for Kibum to pick him up at the library after Jaejin finishes his part-time shift at the front desk. He motions for Kibum to wait a minute when he spots his friend go through the library doors—he’s almost done with his problem set (this is one reason Jaejin opted to take this job; no one ever asks the information desk for  _anything_ , and in effect he actually gets paid to study in the quiet confines of a library).  
  
“Take your time,” Kibum tells him, leaning over the counter and playing with the sign that says ‘INFORMATION.’ “I told Chulyong to meet us here, and it doesn’t look like he’s arrived yet.”  
  
“Chulyong?” Jaejin looks up at his friend.  
  
“Mhm.” Kibum nods. “He’s having dinner with us.”  
  
Jaejin stares at him.  _Why?_  he almost asks, but then the person in question suddenly barges in, loud and obnoxious, waving at them as he approaches, never mind the ‘PLEASE OBSERVE SILENCE’ signs that can be found strategically all over all over the room.  
  
“Hello!” He greets them heartily, his voice practically echoing throughout the place.  
  
“SSSSSHH!” Someone hisses at Chulyong, and Kibum lets out something in between a giggle and a snort.  
  
“Sshh,” Jaejin repeats, finger on his mouth, his lips pressed tightly together.  
  
“Sorry,” Chulyong whispers sheepishly, scratching his neck. “Hello,” he greets them again, this time in a softer voice.  
  
“Come on,” Kibum says with an amused chuckle, grabbing Chulyong’s arm. “Jaejinnie’s almost done, let’s wait for him by the exit instead.”  
  
Jaejin sighs as he watches them both walk away. He has a feeling he’s going to see more of Chulyong than he originally anticipated.  
  
  
  
  
“And he really looks like Hongki?” Jonghun asks as they watch the bartender pour the beer from the tap.  
  
“Yes,” Jaejin nods. And then he pauses, frowning. “And, well, I guess no, not really. He’s like... the poor man’s Hongki-hyung.”  
  
Jonghun laughs. “Don’t let Hongki hear you talking about how someone looks like him, much less a poor man’s version.”  
  
Jaejin leans against the counter and watches the band performing on stage, bobbing his head along to the music. “I guess he only really looks like Hongki-hyung at first glance,” he mutters. “And now suddenly he’s always just  _there_.”  
  
“What about me?” Hongki is suddenly there, butting in on their conversation, speaking loudly over the music. “I heard my name, what about me?” He grins, grabbing Jonghun’s beer before the latter can even drink it.  
  
“Not everything is about you,” Jonghun tells him calmly, taking his beer mug back from Hongki after he takes a sip from it. “And order your own drink.”  
  
“Of course not everything is about me,” Hongki agrees with a smirk, winking at Jaejin before he motions at the bartender. “Only around 90% of everything is.”  
  
Jonghun scoffs and shakes his head, and Jaejin laughs, even though Hongki still makes his heart thump half a beat faster than usual when he smiles at Jaejin like that.  
  
“Hyung you’re so full of yourself,” is what Jaejin says out loud, rolling his eyes.  
  
“You spend too much time with Kibum, Jaejinnie,” Hongki says, laughing as he slings an arm around Jaejin’s shoulders. “You’ve got his eye roll perfected already.”  
  
  
  
  
“Sorry I’m late,” Chulyong says, panting as he tries to catch his breath.  
  
“It’s okay.” Jaejin smiles. He checks his watch. “Kibum isn’t here yet, anyway.”  
  
“Oh.” Chulyong nods, shifting awkwardly. “ _Oh_.”  
  
They stand side by side in awkward silence waiting for Kibum to make an appearance; Jaejin thinks even a call or text from Kibum would be fine, would at least help the vacant silence surrounding him and Chulyong. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been consistently spending time hanging out for almost the entire semester so far—left alone, it’s always like they’re still strangers.  
  
Jaejin inhales deeply, wondering what he can say to ease the tension. He thinks he might probably be at fault, he was evasive when he first met Chulyong because he reminded him of Hongki, when he shouldn’t have really, and Chulyong probably sensed that.  
  
“I lost track of time playing with my nephew,” Chulyong suddenly pipes up, a late explanation for why he wasn’t on time.  
  
“It’s okay,” Jaejin repeats. “I’m going to strangle Kibum.”  
  
Chulyong grins. “I’ll help,” he volunteers, a little posturing, and it cracks Jaejin up.  
  
“Except one word from him and you’re totally going to back off,” Jaejin points out.  
  
“Eh. E-eh.” Chulyong sighs, with an embarrassed, defeated smile.  
  
Jaejin pats his shoulder, still chuckling—they both know it’s true.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejin is absent-mindedly plucking the strings of Jonghun’s guitar as he and Hongki wait for him to arrive. Hongki is already on his third cigarette, just quietly watching all the people walking past them, alternately humming along to whatever tune Jaejin randomly decides to play if whenever he recognizes it.  
  
“What time did Jonghun-hyung say he was going to be done?” Jaejin asks.  
  
Hongki shrugs. “Soon,” he answers, without even bothering to check the time.  
  
Jaejin sighs, slouching backwards—he’s not sure why he’s always stuck waiting for people who don’t know how to arrive on time.  
  
“Look, isn’t that Kibum?” Hongki suddenly asks, motioning his head towards a certain direction. “Who’s the guy he’s with?”  
  
Jaejin looks up, squints, and realises it’s Chulyong, who is already waving at them.  
  
Jaejin tentatively raises an arm and waves back. “That's Chulyong.”  
  
“Oh, so that's him.” Hongki nods in recognition at the name.  
  
“You know him?”  
  
Hongki snorts. “You've mentioned him once or twice. I  _do_  listen when you or Jonghun talk, you know.”  
  
“Well,” Jaejin grins mischievously, “you're pretty full of yourself; it's sometimes hard to believe that.”  
  
Hongki rolls his eyes, letting out a puff of smoke. “Shut up, I'm not that bad.”  
  
“Hey!” Kibum nods at them; Chulyong is grinning his usual trademark grin.  
  
“No class?” Jaejin is pretty sure Kibum and Chulyong should currently be at Psych 101.  
  
“Free cut,” Chulyong answers, more than enthusiastic to be ditching class without consequence.  
  
“This is Hongki-hyung,” Jaejin says, mostly to Chulyong since Kibum has met both Hongki and Jonghun more than once before.  
  
“Hey,” Chulyong grins, his voice louder than normal (but then again, Chulyong's average decibel levels have always been more than a normal human's).  
  
Hongki raises an eyebrow at him, eyeing him carefully. He just nods in acknowledgment.  
  
“You guys kind of look alike.” And  _of course_  Kibum has to volunteer that particular observation.  
  
“Do we—” Chulyong starts to ask, except he's cut off by Hongki.  
  
“Not really.” Hongki says it so directly, without any hint of teasing or amusement, in between blowing rings of cigarette smoke.  
  
Kibum snorts and Jaejin has to elbow him lightly. Chulyong just looks awkward.  
  
“Want to go get food with us?” Kibum turns to Jaejin.  
  
“We’re waiting for Jonghun-hyung,” Jaejin explains. “And then I have to be at the library for work.”  
  
“I’ll text you later then,” Kibum says, and Jaejin nods.  
  
Chulyong is all of a sudden uncharacteristically mute.  
  
  
  
  
“Do you not like Chulyong or something?” Kibum confronts Jaejin one time.  
  
“What?” Jaejin laughs. "Don't be ridiculous."  
  
Kibum eyes him, unconvinced. “Chulyong doesn’t feel like you like him very much.”  
  
“He told you that?”  
  
Kibum shrugs. “In not so many words.”  
  
Jaejin frowns; it’s not like he meant to make Chulyong feel unloved. It’s just that the other boy took some getting used to.  
  
“Is your issue that he looks too much like Hongki-hyung?”  
  
“W-what!” Jaejin is just a little too defensive. “They don’t even really look alike after a while.”  
  
Kibum snorts. “That may be true, but  _still_.”  
  
Jaejin shakes his head silently, opting to resume staring at the notes he was reading before Kibum started talking.  
  
“So how’s the Hongki-hyung thing then?” Sometimes though, his best friend just doesn’t know when to shut up.  
  
“There’s no Hongki-hyung thing,” Jaejin practically bites out.  
  
“But you still want there to be a thing?”  
  
“Hongki-hyung isn’t into guys,” Jaejin states calmly.  
  
“And a damn shame that is,” Kibum says with an almost wistful sigh.  
  
Jaejin flips a page loudly, not that anything from the last few paragraphs has actually stuck in his head.  
  
“Chulyong is a good guy, Jaejin,” Kibum says suddenly, going full cycle and returning to the offset.  
  
“I know.”  
  
  
  
  
It’s 11PM on a Saturday, and it’s pouring heavily outside when someone knocks on the door of the apartment that Jaejin shares with his older sister.  
  
He finds Chulyong by the doorstep, soaked, and looking utterly defeated. Jaejin blinks and stares.  
  
“What happened to you?”  
  
“I’m freezing.” Chulyong wraps his arms around himself as if to prove a point, and Jaejin takes this as his cue to step aside and let his friend in.  
  
_What happened?_  Jaejin is about to ask again, but he realises he should probably help his friend to some dry clothes first.  
  
“Wait for a sec,” he instructs Chulyong, leaving him dripping wet in the middle of his living room. He quickly ducks into his room and pulls out the first pair of clothes he thinks will fit Chulyong; they don’t really have the same body type but he figures anything will be better than looking like a wet dishrag.  
  
“Here,” he says when he gets back, handing over the clothes to his friend. “Take a shower, there should be some clean towels in the bathroom closet.”  
  
“Thanks,” Chulyong squeaks; it’s so unlike him.  
  
“Does your friend need anything else?” Jaejin’s sister comes out of her room as soon as the bathroom door clicks shut. Jaejin won’t be surprised if Jaekyung had been eavesdropping.  
  
“Not sure.” Jaejin shrugs. “I don’t even know what happened yet.”  
  
“Feed him,” Jaekyung suggests. “There’s some leftover kimchi stew in the kitchen.”  
  
Jaejin nods. “I will. Good night noona.”  
  
“‘Night ‘Jin.”  
  
Chulyong looks refreshed when he comes out of the shower; Jaejin’s ratty old t-shirt is a little fitted on him, but the shorts at least look snug.  
  
“Want to eat?” Jaejin asks.  
  
“I got dumped,” is Chulyong’s unceremonious answer.  
  
Jaejin stares at him as he racks his brain for whatever information it might contain regarding Chulyong’s love life. All he remembers is that Chulyong had been going out for around a month with a theater major one year their junior.  
  
“And you came  _here_?” Jaejin croaks out, instead of words of comfort he knows at the back of his mind he should’ve said instead. Maybe something like  _I’m sorry_  or even  _that sucks_. Too late though.  
  
“Um.” Chulyong lowers his head. “Yeah. Sorry. She lives three blocks away. She kicked me out, and it’s practically a thunderstorm outside.”  
  
“It’s okay.” Jaejin attempts a comforting smile. “You should have some food or something, and then you can tell me all about it. Have you had dinner yet?”  
  
Chulyong eats slowly and so silently that it makes Jaejin feel uncomfortable.  
  
“You look like a lost puppy,” Jaejin blurts out. Chulyong’s hair is still wet, and sticking out all over his head; Jaejin can’t help but remember Kibum’s words the first time they were introduced— _he’s like a stray_.  
  
It makes Chulyong laugh, almost choking on his food, and the sight of him coughing makes Jaejin snort back his own laughter.  
  
“Sorry.” Jaejin grins. “That was probably not appropriate.”  
  
Chulyong smiles back. “It’s okay, I’m the one who’s intruding in the first place.”  
  
Jaejin leans back against his chair, he can’t really think of anything else to say.  
  
“It was my fault I got dumped,” Chulyong admits after he finishes his food.  
  
Jaejin raises an eyebrow but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to come off as judging.  
  
“I wasn’t really that into the relationship and I guess that was obvious. Still fucking sucks though, if you get broken up with in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm.”  
  
Jaejin laughs. “You’ll get over it.”  
  
“I know,” Chulyong nods. “She was a bitch anyway.”  
  
“You’re a dick,” Jaejin snorts, narrowing his eyes at Chulyong and shaking his head.  
  
Chulyong laughs sheepishly. “I know. And she wasn’t really a bitch.”  
  
Jaejin sighs. “You really look like a lost and confused puppy.”  
  
It doesn’t make sense, but they both end up laughing at that.  
  
  
  
  
“You guys seem to be getting closer,” Kibum observes.  
  
“Us guys?” Jaejin feigns ignorance.  
  
“Chulyong,” Kibum clarifies, even though they both know Jaejin knew who he meant. “You and Chulyong.”  
  
“Are we?”  
  
Kibum rolls his eyes, and Jaejin briefly thinks that his best friend should really get a patent on that. “I’m not blind.”  
  
Jaejin looks up at him, and Kibum looks right back; it’s an impromptu staring competition, both of them waiting for the other to give in and admit defeat.  
  
“Hey!” Someone gently flicks at Jaejin’s bangs, breaking his concentration and making him lose the game. Even without looking, they both know it’s Chulyong, who freely and comfortably parks himself on the seat next to Jaejin. “What’s up?”  
  
Kibum throws him a knowing look, but Jaejin just ignores him, opting instead to give Chulyong a playful shove.  
  
“Your hair is getting long,” Chulyong comments, tugging at the lock of hair obscuring Jaejin’s left eye.  
  
Jaejin is pretty sure he’s just turned a pale shade of red, and at the back of his mind he utters a silent prayer that it’s only obvious to Kibum. “Yeah, I guess I kind of need a haircut.”  
  
Chulyong smiles widely, as if pleased with himself that he has helped Jaejin come to this conclusion.  
  
  
  
  
“Why are we still talking about this Chulyong guy?” Jonghun makes a face at him. “Why are  _you_  still whining about him?”  
  
“I’m not  _whining_ ,” Jaejin denies. “I’m just... talking about him.”  
  
Jonghun smiles. “Okay, go on. I guess it’s fine. This is very new anyway, you whining.”  
  
Jaejin shuts up and stares at the stage instead; the band that’s currently playing is one that he really likes.  
  
“‘Sup my bro!” Jaejin almost jumps out of his shoes when he feels Hongki suddenly clap him on his back.  
  
“Dude,” Jaejin glares at him, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “ _Bro_.”  
  
Hongki smirks at him, and Jaejin rolls his eyes in return.  
  
And then Hongki and Jonghun get into a hushed discussion about the band, and Jaejin is pretty sure it concerns the pretty bassist who is apparently Jonghun’s current fling. He just stays quiet, tapping his left foot in accordance with the beat, pleased with himself as realises that he will be proudly reporting to Kibum later: his heart is beating at a completely normal pace.  
  
  
  
  
“Aren’t you getting off soon?” Chulyong asks, leaning over the information desk to take a peek at whatever Jaejin was busy with on the computer.  
  
Jaejin raises a finger to his lips. “Indoor voice.” He points at the nearest ‘BE SILENT’ placard. Chulyong never seems to learn.  
  
“Sorry,” Chulyong whispers. “Does your shift finish soon?”  
  
Jaejin glances at his watch. “Thirty minutes.”  
  
“Great! I’ll wait for you, let’s hang out.”  
  
Chulyong takes Jaejin to a noraebang an hour later, where they spend two hours, with Chulyong mostly hogging the microphone and Jaejin practically rolling over with laughter at Chulyong’s off-key singing.  
  
“That was fun,” Jaejin declares happily after they pay the noona at the noraebang. “And tiring.”  
  
“I know how to have fun.” Chulyong winks at him, and Jaejin suddenly feels that familiar half-a-beat skip in his chest.  
  
“So... uh...” Chulyong trails off; they’re walking side by side towards the nearest train station.  
  
“So? Uh?” Jaejin smiles at him.  
  
“I’ve been meaning to ask—” Chulyong pauses as he takes a deep breath, “you and Kibummie, is there... something going on?”  
  
The smile on Jaejin’s face gets wiped out in a flash and he almost chokes on his own spit. “What the fuck?! No! We’re just really good friends why would you even—”  
  
Chulyong shrugs with forced nonchalance. “That’s it I guess. You’re too good of friends that it’s suspicious.”  
  
Jaejin’s face is contorted in an inexplicable frown. “What the fuck, just. No! We’re just friends.”  
  
“Sorry.” Chulyong laughs, embarrassed but also looking partly relieved.  
  
“Wait,” Jaejin blinks as a realisation dawns onto him. “Do you like Kibum?!” Images of how Chulyong is always leaning in close to Kibum flash in his head; images of Chulyong always casually touching Kibum, and whispering God-knows-what into Kibum’s ears. “I thought you were into girls!”  
  
“NO!” Chulyong is quick to deny, but something is making him really flustered. “Shit, no, I’m not into Kibum like that! At all!”  
  
Jaejin peers at him closely. “Well, good,” he says. “I think Kibum is on the verge of dating this guy from his Art History class anyway.”  
  
Chulyong nods and they walk quietly for a few minutes. Jaejin figures he’s still embarrassed from being accused of having a crush on Kibum, until he realises that Chulyong never denied the possibility of him being into men. Jaejin glances at him, and as if Chulyong has actually heard his thoughts,  
  
“I  _do_  like girls.” he mutters, prompting a tiny understanding nod from Jaejin. And then, almost inaudible, he adds, “And guys. Sometimes.”  
  
Jaejin understands it for the most part, but he wants to be sure he didn’t hear incorrectly. Chulyong already looks so embarrassed though, and Jaejin feels bad just thinking about making him repeat what he said.  
  
They walk in complete silence until they separate at the train station.  
  
  
  
  
Finals week roll by and Jaejin barely sees Chulyong. Kibum becomes a fixture at the library though, not that they ever really have the time to talk as they cram as much knowledge as they can into their heads.  
  
“Did something happen?” Kibum confronts Jaejin as soon as they can figuratively breathe again.  
  
“To?”  
  
“You and Chulyong.” Kibum bites the inside of his cheek. “He’s suddenly like a sick, pining puppy.”  
  
“I refuse to believe that.” Jaejin glares at his friend.  
  
Kibum laughs. “Okay, it’s not really true. But you know I read people well, right?”  
  
“ _Right_.”  
  
  
  
  
When someone knocks at his door at 10PM one Thursday night, Jaejin is more surprised at the fact that he isn’t surprised  _at all_  to find that it’s Chulyong.  
  
“Did Kibum tell you?” He sounds out of breath, almost like he ran all the way to Jaejin’s apartment.  
  
“Tell me what?” Jaejin’s brow creases. He moves aside to let Chulyong in, but the latter doesn’t budge from the doorway.  
  
Chulyong frowns and he takes a deep breath. “That I like you.”  
  
“ _WHAT_?”  
  
Chulyong’s shoulders visibly slump. “Oh I guess not.”  
  
For some reason, this makes Jaejin start cracking up. “Did he tell you he told me that?” he asks between guffaws.  
  
Chulyong is dead silent and unable to meet Jaejin’s eyes.  
  
“God that is so classic Kim Kibum!” Jaejin is still laughing hard.  
  
“What,” Chulyong grumbles.  
  
“I guess he didn’t tell  _you_.” Jaejin is so amused—he knows his best friend too well, and he knows exactly what Kibum was trying to accomplish.  
  
“Tell me what?” Chulyong questions tentatively.  
  
Jaejin grins, shakes his head, and then grabs Chulyong’s arm to pull the other boy towards himself. Jaejin’s own lips are dry, and a little chapped, but Chulyong’s feel surprisingly soft against them. Jaejin tugs at Chulyong and leads him inside the apartment, not really too keen on the idea that nosy neighbors might spot them.  
  
“Your facial hair tickles,” Chulyong comments obnoxiously when they pull apart for a bit of air.  
  
“Okay, I’m going to stop kissing you now,” Jaejin huffs.  
  
Chulyong laughs. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” he grins, his hand making its way to the back of Jaejin’s neck, pulling him closer to continue where they left off.  
  
  
  
  
“So this is the famous Bang Chulyong.” Jonghun studies him from head to toe when Jaejin finally lets them meet; he smiles and holds out a hand once he's done. “Nice to meet you, I'm Jonghun.”  
  
Chulyong eagerly shakes it, the grin on his face almost impossible to wipe off.  
  
“We still don't look anything alike,” Hongki says when  _he_  shakes Chulyong's hand.  
  
“Shut up,” Jaejin and Jonghun tell him unison; a nervous laugh escapes Chulyong's throat.  
  
“Kid actually looks better than you,” Jonghun retorts.  
  
“Fuck you,” Hongki scowls at him.  
  
Jaejin just smiles and elbows Chulyong lightly. “Ignore them,” he whispers into his ear.  
  
Chulyong simply grins at him, and they stand side by side, shoulders touching as they quietly watch the band playing on stage, never mind the hushed bickering of the two idiots right beside them.  
  
  
  
  
//


End file.
